“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
- 2 Cor. 6:14 (NASB, as with the following quotes)
- 2 Cor. 6:14 (NASB, as with the following quotes)
In condemning the idea of scary monster stories, especially when they include vampires and werewolves, many Christians refer to the above verse, particularly the part that says, “…what fellowship has light with darkness?” It's probably the most commonly-quoted verse when they say Christians should neither read nor watch stories and movies with those elements, and certainly should not write about such things.
The surprised looks I sometimes receive when believers suddenly realize that some of my stories are horror caught me by surprise the first time it happened. After all, as a child I loved the old classic monster movies and comic books; they were exciting and spooky and fun! There was nothing inappropriate about them; the good guys always won, the monsters always lost. In fact, in many of the stories, themes of faith were prevalent, especially when it came to defeating the monsters. God, and the people and things of God, were frequently shown to be more powerful than the creatures of the night. Good won, evil lost; which was the way it was supposed to be.
Of course, many of the modern monster stories have taken a decidedly secular turn toward sin and moral ambiguity and the celebration of evil, and I think that is perhaps why those concerned about "horror stories" become alarmed when they hear about my books.
But the people, and the kids, of the world are in the world. They are there in the midst of the sin and the pain and the trials and the hardships. The kids are drawn to monster stories. That is where they are, in the midst of their lives. If not my stories, then it will be someone else’s. They watch the monster movies and read the monster books, maybe because it gives them a chance to see good win over evil, whether they get to see it in the real world or not. Maybe because it gives them a way to have control over the evil that is so prevalent around them. Inside the stories, it is safe. They can close the book if it gets too intense, and come back later. And they can watch the bad guys lose, and the good guys win. And in the stories, it’s usually clear who the good and bad guys are. In the real world, that distinction, unfortunately, is sometimes difficult to see.
The people who use the above verse as a reason to separate from the world in all its sinfulness, and especially from unbelievers because they are, in fact, unbelievers, are wrong. In context, it is true that the Biblical conversation includes themes of holiness, which all Christians should pursue. And the verse does clarify that believers and unbelievers should not marry; in fact, that is the primary focus of the verse. This is because a believer being married to someone who does not believe, and who may be adversarial toward Christian faith, is obviously a difficult thing to succeed at. The unbeliever may end up causing the believer to struggle and grow cold in their faith; they will certainly cause difficulties when it comes to teaching their children about God. That is granted.
But remember Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in John 17? “I do not ask You [the Father] to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (verses 15 and 18)
And take note of this from the Apostle Paul as well: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of the world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to be out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person…” (I Cor. 5:9-11).
So we see that we are not to avoid worldly people. In fact, we, as Christians, are sent to them in the name of Christ. And where are we to reach them? In church, right? Wait for them to show up and then tell them about God!
No... the Church, as the body of Christ, is sent by God into the world to reach them where they're at. And how do I get a message of faith to a thirteen-year-old who wants to read a cool story about a vampire?
I'll write a cool story about a vampire and include a message of faith within the story.
In Albert Barnes’ commentary on 2 Cor. 6:14, he writes that Christians are to avoid:
The surprised looks I sometimes receive when believers suddenly realize that some of my stories are horror caught me by surprise the first time it happened. After all, as a child I loved the old classic monster movies and comic books; they were exciting and spooky and fun! There was nothing inappropriate about them; the good guys always won, the monsters always lost. In fact, in many of the stories, themes of faith were prevalent, especially when it came to defeating the monsters. God, and the people and things of God, were frequently shown to be more powerful than the creatures of the night. Good won, evil lost; which was the way it was supposed to be.
Of course, many of the modern monster stories have taken a decidedly secular turn toward sin and moral ambiguity and the celebration of evil, and I think that is perhaps why those concerned about "horror stories" become alarmed when they hear about my books.
But the people, and the kids, of the world are in the world. They are there in the midst of the sin and the pain and the trials and the hardships. The kids are drawn to monster stories. That is where they are, in the midst of their lives. If not my stories, then it will be someone else’s. They watch the monster movies and read the monster books, maybe because it gives them a chance to see good win over evil, whether they get to see it in the real world or not. Maybe because it gives them a way to have control over the evil that is so prevalent around them. Inside the stories, it is safe. They can close the book if it gets too intense, and come back later. And they can watch the bad guys lose, and the good guys win. And in the stories, it’s usually clear who the good and bad guys are. In the real world, that distinction, unfortunately, is sometimes difficult to see.
The people who use the above verse as a reason to separate from the world in all its sinfulness, and especially from unbelievers because they are, in fact, unbelievers, are wrong. In context, it is true that the Biblical conversation includes themes of holiness, which all Christians should pursue. And the verse does clarify that believers and unbelievers should not marry; in fact, that is the primary focus of the verse. This is because a believer being married to someone who does not believe, and who may be adversarial toward Christian faith, is obviously a difficult thing to succeed at. The unbeliever may end up causing the believer to struggle and grow cold in their faith; they will certainly cause difficulties when it comes to teaching their children about God. That is granted.
But remember Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in John 17? “I do not ask You [the Father] to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one…. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (verses 15 and 18)
And take note of this from the Apostle Paul as well: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of the world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to be out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person…” (I Cor. 5:9-11).
So we see that we are not to avoid worldly people. In fact, we, as Christians, are sent to them in the name of Christ. And where are we to reach them? In church, right? Wait for them to show up and then tell them about God!
No... the Church, as the body of Christ, is sent by God into the world to reach them where they're at. And how do I get a message of faith to a thirteen-year-old who wants to read a cool story about a vampire?
I'll write a cool story about a vampire and include a message of faith within the story.
In Albert Barnes’ commentary on 2 Cor. 6:14, he writes that Christians are to avoid:
“...the amusements and pleasures that are entirely worldly, and sinful in their nature; that are wholly under worldly influence, and which cannot be brought under Christian principles. Nearly all amusements are of this description. The true principle here seems to be, that if a Christian in such a place is expected to lay aside his Christian principles, and if it would be deemed indecorous and improper for him to introduce the subject of religion, or if religion would be regarded as entirely inconsistent with the nature of the amusement, then he is not to be found there. The world reigns there, and if the principles of his Lord and Master would be excluded, he should not be there.”
(Albert Barnes, "Notes On The Bible")
I submit that what I have done with the Alec Kerley stories is to take ownership of the monster stories and introduce themes of faith and redemption into them. Rather than laying aside my Christian principles in the stories of monsters like vampires and werewolves, I have transformed them and taken ownership of them in the name of faith. In effect, I'm going out into the world and whispering into the ear of that middle-schooler that maybe there's something to the idea of faith in God.
My stories are the means of delivering those messages of faith to my readers, wherever they are. In the midst of their sin. In the midst of their pain. In the midst of their lives. I deliver action-packed, fun, clean stories which show that good wins over evil, that God is stronger than Satan, and which carry subtle messages of faith. They're not overbearing, and they're not "preachy," because I'm not directing the books at a strictly Christian audience.
I'm directing the books at the kids who are where I was at their age; to my thirteen-year-old self. They love monsters, and think they are cool. They've maybe been dealing with some pain and maybe haven't had time to think about something as ethereal as faith. I'm letting them know that there is healing available after pain; that there is a God who loves them; and that they can know Him.
That is my ministry. And as Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
My stories are the means of delivering those messages of faith to my readers, wherever they are. In the midst of their sin. In the midst of their pain. In the midst of their lives. I deliver action-packed, fun, clean stories which show that good wins over evil, that God is stronger than Satan, and which carry subtle messages of faith. They're not overbearing, and they're not "preachy," because I'm not directing the books at a strictly Christian audience.
I'm directing the books at the kids who are where I was at their age; to my thirteen-year-old self. They love monsters, and think they are cool. They've maybe been dealing with some pain and maybe haven't had time to think about something as ethereal as faith. I'm letting them know that there is healing available after pain; that there is a God who loves them; and that they can know Him.
That is my ministry. And as Romans 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”